ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have recalled left wing Chris Bourque from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Bourque will join the Capitals in Atlanta and will be poised to make his NHL debut in tonight’s game at Philips Arena (7 p.m., Talk Radio 3WT – 107.7 FM, 1500 AM, 820 AM).

Bourque, 21, was the Capitals’ second-round choice, 33rd overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The third-year professional currently shares the Hershey team lead in goals with three through eight games and has added two assists for five points.

A 5’9”, 173-pound native of Boston, Mass., Bourque is the son of NHL Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque. He made a 17-goal and 22-point improvement from his first pro season to his second, posting 25 goals and 58 points for the Bears in 2006-07. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring and third in assists (33). Seven of his 25 goals came on the power play and two were shorthanded.

Bourque is a former Boston University Terrier (Hockey East) and a two-time member of the U.S. National Junior Team. His addition to the lineup gives Washington four members of its 2004 draft class in the NHL, as Bourque joins Alex Ovechkin (first overall), Jeff Schultz (27th) and Mike Green (29th).

RIP 21

"Nah, I trust the laws of nature to stay constant. I don't pray that the sun will rise tomorrow, and I don't need to pray that someone will beat the Cowboys in the playoffs." - Irn-Bru

GSPODS wrote:I wouldn't think it would do anything other than help.How bad can a "Bourque" be at ice hockey?And, conversely, we all know how good a Bourque can be.

There is only one Raymond Bourque.

If measuring up to him is to be used as the barometer, then virtually every player who has ever played the game will come up short.

not-so-known fact about Ray...

He played with goaltender John Grahame, whose father Ron Grahame was the guy traded by Boston for the draft pick used to select Bourque in 1977.

All the same... best of luck to Chris in the bigs.

I'll admit that was probably not the best way to state that. My thinking was that hockey prowess tends to run in some families, the Sutters, the Suters, the Hatchers, the Hunters to name a few. I'm hoping Chris has whatever it is that makes hockey talent pass from one generation to the next. It would be unfair to expect it, and I certainly didn't intend to compare Chris to his father, who played 20 years.

GSPODS wrote:I'll admit that was probably not the best way to state that. My thinking was that hockey prowess tends to run in some families, the Sutters, the Suters, the Hatchers, the Hunters to name a few. I'm hoping Chris has whatever it is that makes hockey talent pass from one generation to the next. It would be unfair to expect it, and I certainly didn't intend to compare Chris to his father, who played 20 years.

Every one of those examples listed are brothers, not father/son combos. Were those brothers successful because of genetics or because they were all raised in the same hockey environment by their parents? Topic for a different conversation I guess.

If you want to check out a current father/son combo, check out how Sam Gagner is playing for the Oilers this year... he's the son of former NHLer Dave Gagner. And to go even further off-topic briefly, if you haven't seen Gagner' shootout goal from last week - you have to check it out. Watch the bad clip to the ed because the view from behind the goalie at least gives you a better view of the moves. I watched him do virtually the exact same deke a few times here in London last year. The goaltenders (should) know it's coming but it's just virtually a perfect move - pretty hockey. He makes it look so easy and fluid, but if you've played the game, you know that hands that soft mean lots of goals.

Sorry to digress, I just figure any hockey fan is going to appreciate that penalty shot.

BossHog wrote:If you want to check out a current father/son combo, check out how Sam Gagner is playing for the Oilers this year... he's the son of former NHLer Dave Gagner. And to go even further off-topic briefly, if you haven't seen Gagner' shootout goal from last week - you have to check it out. Watch the bad clip to the ed because the view from behind the goalie at least gives you a better view of the moves. I watched him do virtually the exact same deke a few times here in London last year. The goaltenders (should) know it's coming but it's just virtually a perfect move - pretty hockey. He makes it look so easy and fluid, but if you've played the game, you know that hands that soft mean lots of goals.

Sorry to digress, I just figure any hockey fan is going to appreciate that penalty shot.

Allow me to say I'd be a complete idiot to challenge your hockey knowledge, or to claim my knowledge is anywhere near the same level, so I won't.

I also just remembered the name "Hull", which should have been impossible to forget or exclude from my previous post.

Also, and I'm not trying to be a smart-ass here, you run this board. You are allowed to go as far off-topic as you like. You're still talking hockey. You're correcting my limited knowledge. And that video is awesome. Thanks for sharing the link.

I'm pretty sure Scott and I talked about this, but probably not on the board...

If you go back and watch the NHL Draft, when McPhee gets to the mic to make their first selection, he actually says, 'the Washington Capitals would like to select from the Lon...', then he stops, pauses, and says 'from the Calgary Hitmen, Karl Alzner.'

So you KNOW that they were thinking about it and that it was a tough decision.

Bah... nothing to do with Chris Bourque I know... but Scott knows that I get a bit of an 'I told you so,' on that one.

Having said that, my opinion had NOTHING to do with Alzner and he's a top notch defensive prospect... my logic was simply that defenseman take longer to develop a lot of the time, and Gagner could come in and contribute.

There is an official video clip of Gagner's goal on the oilers site, but you'll have to go to about the 5:30 mark to catch the Ganger part.

Gagner's fourth on the team in scoring and has now played in 14 games, so he's there to stay. Good for him... as big a prospect as he is, he was still only given a small chance of sticking this year - he earned it.

GSPODS wrote:Allow me to say I'd be a complete idiot to challenge your hockey knowledge, or to claim my knowledge is anywhere near the same level, so I won't.

You can do as you please, and whether hockey is a learned or innate ability is actually an interesting topic of discussion to re-visit some time.

I also just remembered the name "Hull", which should have been impossible to forget or exclude from my previous post.

Definitely the best father/son combo ever... certainly the ONLY combo to both win the Hart Trophy as league MVP... ironic considering that from most accounts, they really don't like each other very much.

Back on topic, Bourque skated with Ovie and Michael Nylander last night 18 shifts over 12 minutes, including some time on the power play. He had two shots on goal and his first visit to an NHL sin bin, as well.

RIP 21

"Nah, I trust the laws of nature to stay constant. I don't pray that the sun will rise tomorrow, and I don't need to pray that someone will beat the Cowboys in the playoffs." - Irn-Bru

JansenFan wrote:Back on topic, Bourque skated with Ovie and Michael Nylander last night 18 shifts over 12 minutes, including some time on the power play. He had two shots on goal and his first visit to an NHL sin bin, as well.

Oh, the joys of the "Sin Bin". If you're going to be thrown to the wolves of NHL hockey, there aren't two better Caps to have on your line. Nylander will get Chris the 'biscuit'. Especially good place to be (on the Scoring 1 Line, that is) when no other lines are producing.

JansenFan wrote:He's got good speed and puck-handling ability. It'll be interesting to see how he fits on the top line. Hopefully Ovie won't rip his ear off with the puck and he can contribute to the line.

You can't coach speed, which is always an asset. Good stickwork is the result of practice, which shows dedication to improvement. Now, about that Ovie taking out teammates ... perhaps the "Chuck & Duck" play needs to be added to Capitals hockey.

Personally, I think putting Bourque on the top line is a mistake. I've watched the Leafs try and 'balance out lines' for years - it doesn't work - not in the 'new NHL'.

Put your guns with your guns and bang... sure you're going to mix things up for chemistry... but when a player got cut a month ago, he hasn't earned the right, nor shown the [propensity, to do what it takes to be a front line player.

Didn't work with Tomas Fleischmann did it? Eventually it just became apparent that regardless of his particular skill SET, he doesn't (yet) have ample skills to play 20-25 minutes a night and in all the key situations.

I personally think that a young guy trying to EARN playing time will make better progress than one just handed the keys to the shiny new Cadillac. If you want to give him more chances to be successful offensively, then stick him on one of the PP units and give him a taste.